Adventures In Falling
by firemax
Summary: Max gets injured and is taken to Dr.Martinez's house to recover, where the kids annoy her and Fang is acting weird. Reviews would be nice to help me improve.
1. Chapter 1

**Authors Note: This is my first story so it will probably suck, but if someone actually reads it, or even reviews to help me make it better it would make me extremely happy.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Maximum Ride, James Patterson does.**

It was a rotten day.

We were flying over New Mexico in the pouring rain, heading to my Moms house in Arizona, and I was wet, tired, and hungry. And yes I just said flying, and not in a plane, either. With our wings. And for those of you who are saying "Huh? With your wings? What are you on?" I'll pause for a minute and explain.

Yes, we have wings. We grew up in a horrible place in California called the School, where we lived in dog crates and were experimented on. We were all of the human/avian catagory, so we were put together. Then Jeb, the nice whitecoat (or so we thought), helped us escape.

I still get mad whenever I think about him. We thought he was great, like a real parent. But then he disappeared and we thought he was dead. I wish. He actually went back to the School to work with them, he betrayed us, that lying, dirty, a- wait. I shouldn't think swear words around a mind reader. Especially a six year old one. That's just wrong.

But sometimes we forget, and she'll hear. We being me, Max, Fang, Iggy, Nudge, the Gasman, and Angel. I'm the leader of the flock, and the oldest at fourteen, Fang is also fourteen, and my dark, silent, second-in-command. Iggy, our blind, witty, pyro, is fourteen as well, Nudge, the motormouth is eleven, Gazzy, or the Gasman (called so for obvious reasons once you've spent five minutes in a room with him) is eight and takes after Iggy in the pyro department, and Angel, the youngest, is six.

_**Almost seven, Max.**_

_Geeze, Angel what have I told you about listening to my thoughts?!_

_**Sorry, Max.**_

Her sweet, child-like giggle filled my head. _**But I'm hungry and I wanted to know if we were stopping to eat soon.**_

_You could have just asked_, I thought back.

She giggled again. _**But that's not as fun.**_

I sighed out loud. Fang, who was flying next to me, looked at me questioningly. "Angel" I muttered in explanation. He nodded, satisfied. None of us particularly enjoyed it when Angel read our minds, but, hey, she was a six year old telepathic mutant. We could cut her some slack. Plus, I already had a headache, and having an extra presence in my head didn't help at all.

_Hello, Maximum._

Speaking of extra presences in my head... _Hello, Voice. _And yes, I have a voice in my head. One that is neither mine nor Angels. Not nearly as cool as it sounds.

_Will you please go away, I'm not in the mood for the danger or weird incidents that follow your visits right now _I thought, getting fed up with all the intrusions into my mind. The Voice chuckled.

_Actually, Maximum, I will._

Wow, it was actually listening to me for once. _I will be going away for a while, and you will be on your own, with no help from me._ _Good, will you leave now? _I asked impatiently. _Goodbye, Maximum Ride. Good luck._

I smiled- finally, some peace and quiet. "Hey Max?" Never mind, my peace and quiet just jumped out the window, as soon as Nudge opened her mouth.

"What, Nudge?"

"I'm hungry and so is Angel and I bet Gazzy and Iggy and Fang are too, 'cause the last time we ate was, like, hours ago and I was thinking maybe we could like, go to a McDonalds, and, like, eat there, 'cause usually we get food and eat it somewhere else, but, like, it's raining so it would be nice and dry and warm in there and-"

"Nudge my ears are bleeding!" yelled Iggy.

Nudge fell silent. "Getting something to eat sounds great, Nudge" I said. " I think theres a strip mall around here-" Just then I was interrupted by Iggy.

"Gazzy! Oh man, I was right behind you! Ugghhh" Apparently Gazzy had let loose another one of his gifts.

"I'm hungry! Does McDonalds have bacon?" Called total from Fang's arms, looking like he had just climbed out of a lake.

Ug! Where did my peace and quiet go? Oh, wait, I think I see it down on the ground shattered into a billion pieces.

Suddenly a horrible, stabbing pain exploded inside my head. I cried out weakly in pain before my wings tucked into my back and I dropped like a stone from the air, curled into a ball and clutching my head so it didn't fall apart.

I heard faint, desperate shouts of "Max!" But I was in so much pain I just wanted to hit the ground so it would end. Last time Fang caught me, and carried me until I was okay.

That's why he always flew next to me. No one else was strong enough, and Iggy wouldn't be able to see where I was to catch me. All I had to do, all I could do, was wait until Fang caught me, and the pain would eventually go away and I would be all right.

Except that Fang was carrying Total.

And he couldn't catch me while still holding Total.

Which meant he would either have to ditch the dog, or quickly hand him off then come for me- most likely the second option, because if he dropped Total, Angel would probably make him fly full speed into the side of a cliff, and then how would he save me?

At the moment I didn't care whether he caught me or not, as long as the pain stopped. But the Flock needed me, I couldn't die because they needed me.

Preferably not in a billion pieces on the ground, right next to my peace and quiet.


	2. Chapter 2

Fangs POV:

We were flying peacefully (despite the rain) through the air over New Mexico, heading towards Arizona, to visit Max's mom. Dr. Martinez is pretty nice, and will take all of us in whenever we need, _and_ will let us go again, even though she knows we'll be doing dangerous stuff. Not like Iggy's parents, who vowed never to let him go again. Sheesh. Talk about overprotective.

None of us really like being told what to do, or having something restraining us. We like to be free to go whenever we like, and at Dr. M's house we can do that. That's why we're going there now. Plus, Max really misses her mom and sister and the kids miss them too. She treats all of us like her children. I'm not really the kind of guy who gets attached to people easily, but Dr. M's house was safe, warm, had free food, and beds to sleep on. Not bad. I was distracted from my thoughts by Max sighing. I looked over at her, silently questioning whether she was okay. "Angel" she muttered. I nodded knowingly. It wasn't the funnest thing in the world, having a six year old mind reader inside your head.

_**Almost seven**_, Angel reminded me. On the outside I showed no reaction, but in my mind I said _Angel! What did I tell you about reading my mind? __** That I shouldn't because it's a dark and dangerous place that can scar me for life? **__No, that's what Max said. _I replied._ I said DON'T. Go annoy Iggy or something. __**Okay! **_She said cheerfully, and I could feel my mind become my own once more. A few seconds later Iggy shot me a venomous look as Angel started to annoy him. It was slightly creepy how he looked right at me, even though I hadn't spoken and the only sound was of our wings beating. He and Gazzy were whispering to each other, making plans for a new bomb, most likely. They were lucky Max couldn't hear them. She had been irritable all day. When I asked her if she was okay, she said she had a headache. I remember all too well when we were in New York she had a lot of headaches before the brain attacks. The ones that made our strong, fearless leader curl up in a ball and moan while tears rolled down her cheeks. I hated seeing her like that. I wish I could find who was responsible and beat them to a pulp. Oops, I shouldn't think thoughts like that around Angel. Besides, the attacks had gotten rarer and rarer, until they were practically gone. But I would keep an eye on her, just in case.

"Hey Max?" Nudge said suddenly. "What, Nudge" Max replied tiredly. "I'm hungry and so is Angel and I bet Gazzy and Iggy and Fang are too, 'cause the last time we ate was, like, hours ago and I was thinking maybe we could like, go to a McDonalds, and, like, eat there, 'cause usually we get food and eat it somewhere else, but, like, it's raining so it would be nice and dry and warm in there and-" "Nudge my ears are bleeding!" Yelled Iggy with his usual tact. But, still, he had a point. Couldn't Nudge just say 'I'm hungry can we go to McDonalds?' No, of course not, because then she wouldn't be Nudge.

"Getting something to eat sounds great, Nudge" Max said. " I think there's a strip mall around here-" She was interrupted by Iggy yelling "Gazzy! Oh man, I was right behind you! Ugghhh" I smirked. It was funny when Gazzy let one loose near other people, but not you. This time, it wasn't me. "I'm hungry! Does McDonalds have bacon?" Total called from my arms. That dog loves bacon- too much, if you ask me. Suddenly Max cried out in pain and she dropped from the sky, curled up and clutching her head. "Max!" I yelled. I was vaguely aware the others were yelling too but I was focused on Max. In an instant, I was diving after her. Wait- Total! There was no way I could get Max and hold the dumb dog! Crap.


	3. Chapter 3

**Authors Note: Okay, I looked on my stats thingy and it said a bunch of people have read or looked at this story, so I figured I should update. But only one person has reviewed, and even though that made me so happy, it would be nice if I got some more, with constructive critisism, ideas, or just what ever you want to put in a review. Plus, I think I'm gonna put some Fax in here, so advice would be appreciated. **

Fang POV

In a split-second I made my decision. I quickly threw Total up in the air,

yelling "catch", and dove once more after Max. But I had been delayed, she was too far ahead.

No, I couldn't give up, I was only fifty feet behind her.

Forty feet behind... thirty... twenty... ten... almost-

but the ground was suddenly way too close. I reached out, trying to grab Max, any part of her as long as she didn't hit the ground full speed. Her arm was the only part I could reach.

I grabbed it and quickly spread my wings, trying to pull up.

My wings caught the air with a huge jerk, I felt Max's arm break, and it felt like my wings had been ripped from my back. We hit the ground with a thud, and that's all I remembered.

"Oh my gosh are they dead?

They can't be dead, cause', like, Max is the leader and Fang is so strong and-"

"Nudge they aren't dead, so shut up!"

" How do you know?"

"I can hear them breathing."

There was talking.

Someone was talking too loud and my head hurt too much.

Everything hurt too much.

I opened my eyes to see four worried bird-kid faces peering down at me, plus total, who was in Gazzys arms. "You're not dead!" Nudge cried joyously.

"Told ya" Iggy replied. "Max!" I cried, sitting up way too fast and nearly passing out again.

"She's alive" Iggy said quickly.

I looked over at Max. She looked broken, lying face down in the dirt, not moving.

"Max, wake up" I said, crawling over to her and rolling her onto her back.

Her face was bloody and pale, and from the looks of it at least an arm and a leg were broken.

But she was breathing well, and there didn't seem to be any serious trauma.

I looked up, and saw everyone staring at me, waiting for instructions. Right, I was in charge now.

"We need to get her to 's" I said.

She wasn't badly hurt enough that Dr.M couldn't handle it, plus if we went to the hospital, there's the whole issue of them finding out about her wings.

Not good.

I gently picked her up, trying to be careful of her injuries. "Let's go" I said, and jumped into the air, unfurling my wings.

Everyone was silent as we flew, even Nudge, which was like, a miracle.

I was leading the flock, my internal sense of direction telling me where to go.

The Gasman pulled up next to me, looking at Max with worry etched all over his face.

"Is Max gonna be alright?" He asked in a small voice.

He looked so young and scared.

"Yes" I answered simply. "How do you know?" He looked doubtful. The fact was, I didn't didn't look fatally injured, but still pretty bad.

I mean, she could be bleeding internally, dieing, as we were flying.

I couldn't imagine Max dead, Max couldn't die, I couldn't be the leader, plus Max was my best friend and-

I was freaking myself out. How did Max do this leadership thingy?

I realized I still hadn't answered The Gasman's question.

How do you answer a question like that?

Obviously not with the truth, because I didn't know that Max would be okay.

I settled on the simplist answer.

"Because I just know" "Okay" Gazzy said, flying off to rejoin Iggy.

He had just accepted my answer, trusting that what I said was true.

_Now you have to be okay, Max_ I thought, looking down at her limp body in my arms, _they're trusting me that you will be._.

She still hadn't woken up, or stirred at all. I was getting worried.

Usually it only took a few minutes to wake up if one of us was knocked out,

maybe longer if they got hit harder.

What if she never woke up? That thought scared me.

_**She will wake up, Fang **_Angel said in my head. _**I can hear her. She wants to wake up, She's worried about the flock. **__Thanks, Angel _I thought back.

_Can you tell her that everything's all right, that we're all fine?_

_**I'm not sure if she can hear me, but I'll try**_,__and__she left my head.

Soon 's house came into view below us.


	4. Chapter 4

**Okay, I'm really, really sorry that it took me this long to update, but I've been really busy. Thanks again to everyone who reviewed, and the Fax is coming, just wait. I'm going to try and update again fairly soon, hopefully this weekend. **

As Dr. Martinez's house came into view below us, I jerked my head to the flock to signal we were going down. I descended slowly, landing on the ground as gently as I could so I wouldn't jostle Max. The flock landed behind me. "What if they're not home?" Nudge asked tentatively.

I just shrugged and started towards the house. We would wait if they weren't there, and hopefully they would be back soon. Anyway, there was a light on, so they were probably home.

We walked up to the door, and I told Gazzy to knock, because my arms were a bit full. He did, and a few seconds later Ella opened the door. Her jaw dropped at the sight of us, me holding Max, both of us dirty and bloody, the rest of the soaked and muddy flock gathered around us.

"Oh my god! What happened? I'll go get Mom, come in!"

She had barely paused for breath, and left the door open as she ran in the house, yelling "Mom!". We stepped in the house leaving muddy footprints on the clean, white linoleum floor, and dripping water. Total paused inside the door and suddenly shook himself vigorously, spraying us with more water, although we were already so wet it didn't matter. We could hear Ella pulling her mom down the hall, and Dr. Martinez's inquiries as to what was wrong. As they came into the kitchen she gasped and rushed forward. "Put her on the table" she quickly instructed, now in doctor mode.

"Ella, get my bag. What happened?" She looked at me as I gently lay Max out on the table. "She had a brain-attack and fell. I tried to catch her, and got her arm, but she still hit the ground pretty hard" I said calmly. "How long ago?" " I don't know. An hour, maybe two?" I hadn't really paid attention to the time.

Ella returned with the bag, and Dr. M got a stethoscope out, and listened to Max's breathing and heartbeat. Apparently satisfied, she started checking out Max's injuries, feeling her arms and legs. She paused and winced slightly when she felt over Max's right arm, and again over her left leg. "Her arm and her leg are probably broken, but I don't think it's anything life-threatening." Dr. M said.

The Flock looked relieved. "But I should take her to my office for x-rays and to put casts on so she heals correctly. "Can we come?" Gazzy asked anxiously. Dr. Martinez shook her head.

"Sorry, but all of you would attract too much attention. Even though it's Sunday and the office is closed, you still shouldn't risk it. Besides, I'm going to need some space while I work on Max." Instantly the Flock got on those stubborn faces they get whenever they're about to protest,

but at a small shake of my head they stopped. We _were _trying to lay low while we figured out what to do next, and Dr. Martinez was right. "I'm coming" I said. "Fang-"

Dr. M started to protest, but I interrupted her.

"You'll need someone to carry Max, and I'm coming" I squared my feet and glared at her.

I can be stubborn too, I learned from being around Max all my life. However, Dr. Martinez is Max's mother, and she had to get it from somewhere.

The Flocks eyes darted nervously between me and Dr. M, but to my surprise, she sighed and nodded. "Okay" She turned to the flock and Ella. "Ella's in charge, we'll be back soon, and I want to find the house fully intact when we return" She looked pointedly at Gazzy and Iggy. The Gasman looked at the ground, ashamed, and Iggy whispered in his ear "Is she looking at us? She is, isn't she?"

I rolled my eyes, and gently picked Max up from the table as Dr. Martinez opened the door.

As I headed out after her, I turned my head and glared at the Flock, mouthing "behave".

Knowing them, there would probably be several arguments, maybe a wrestling match or two, and by the time we came back, poor Ella would probably be losing her mind. Of course, there is also the off-chance that their worry over Max would overcome their urges to cause trouble,

and they would be perfectly behaved angels while we were gone.

Oh, wait- Dr. M already told them Max would be okay. Ah, well. Poor Ella.


	5. Chapter 5

**Okay, I know I said I would update over the weekend, but I didn't have internet access, so I couldn't, and I'm really sorry about that. Thank you so much to anyone who reviewed, favorited, or alerted, or if you're reading this now. **

**Iggy's POV**

It wasn't long after Fang and Dr. M left with Max that the arguing started. This time, it was between Nudge and Gazzy, over what T.V. channel to watch. I didn't care either way,

so I just sat on the couch and listened to them bicker.

Ella was attempting to settle it, but her words seemed to roll off them like water, and they completely ignored her. After about five minutes of this, I felt her collapse on the couch next to me and groan. "Please help me" she begged. I could hear the desperation in her voice.

"Oh, all right. But only 'cause I'm such a nice person" I said, smiling in her direction. With a sigh I stood up and yelled loud enough to be heard over the loud argument taking place "Who's hungry?" Instantly it became quiet for a moment before shouts of "I am!" and "What are we having?" rang out. "Impressive" Ella remarked. I chuckled.

"When in doubt, introduce a common interest" I said. "Food works almost every time"

I easily navigated to the kitchen and opened the cabinets, feeling the packages to figure out what to make. In the end I decided on spaghetti and meatballs,

because the entire flock loved it, and there would be no further disagreements. I made a ton of food, and set some aside for Dr. M, Fang, and Max, if she was awake, for when they got back.

When everyone was finished eating they were stuffed and tired, so we decided to watch a movie.

Of course, another argument nearly broke out over which movie to watch, because it had to be appropriate for Angel, but also have action for Gazzy, and romance for Nudge. Finally they decided on the Transformers, which we had already seen, (except me) and everyone loved.

About halfway through the movie Magnolia suddenly started barking, and ran to the door, which of course caused Angel to wake up from her resting place on my lap, and Total to huff indignantly from my feet. A few moments later the door opened, and Dr. Martinez's voice called out "We're back" Instantly I could hear everyone jump up and go over to her and Fang and Max, who I'm guessing was still unconscious because I didn't hear her speak.

"How'd it go" I asked, going over there as well. "It's as I thought, a broken arm and leg and some impressive bruises, but when they heal she'll be good as new" She replied.

I could hear everyone sigh in relief, myself included.

"she got a pretty good knock on the head, but she should wake up tomorrow" She added, then told Fang "Why don't you lay her down in one of the spare bedrooms"

He didn't say a word, he hadn't this entire time, and I heard his footsteps fade into the hall. I got the feeling something was bothering him; I may be blind, but that makes me notice things other people don't.

Like how Fang's breathing quickened when Dr. M talked about Max's injuries. Or how his footsteps were stiff as if he was very tense. But even if something was bothering Fang, we all know how talkative he is, so it's not like he would tell us. He was probably just worried about Max. Yeah, that was probably it.


End file.
